SEC WEST NOTEBOOK: Inexperience concerns Arkansas’ Bobby Petrino

Thursday

Aug 28, 2008 at 12:01 AM

The Associated Press

Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino has one obvious cause for concern heading into this weekend’s opener against Western Illinois: inexperience.After losing running backs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones, as well as a few other key players, Arkansas will turn to several newcomers early on.“We have a lot of freshmen that will be playing and a couple of them that will be starting,” Petrino said. “So that makes you nervous.” Who actually starts could depend on what formations the Razorbacks begin the game with on offense and defense — but five freshmen are atop their positions on the depth chart — fullback Mitchell Bailey, free safety Elton Ford, wide receiver Jarius Wright and linebackers Jerry Franklin and Jelani Smith.Wright went to Warren High School in Arkansas, where he caught 58 passes for 1,350 yards and 15 touchdowns as a senior. He is expected to return punts and kicks for the Razorbacks.Joe Adams, another in-state product, backed away from Southern California to sign with Arkansas. He could receive immediate playing time at receiver as well.AuburnThe evidence of No. 10 Auburn’s youth movement is all over the depth chart — from the demotion of senior receiver Robert Dunn to the abundance of freshmen as backups in the secondary.The Tigers have 10 sophomores listed as starters and five freshmen listed as second-teamers. All four secondary positions have freshmen listed on the depth chart.The biggest surprise was Dunn’s spot as a fourth-team inside receiver, behind sophomores Mario Fannin and Terrell Zachery and second-team freshman Darvin Adams. Tuberville said Dunn’s status sends a message that no job is safe even for veterans.“On offense he hasn’t performed to his abilities and we’ve got a lot of players there in that position,” Tuberville said. “The older players can find out very quickly how important it is to be consistent. You can’t rest on experience, you can’t rest on, ’Hey, I’ve been here.’ You better play and you better perform.” LSULes Miles is eager to get defensive tackle Charles Alexander back on the field for the first time since he went down with a right knee injury early in the 2007 season.Alexander arrived at camp in early August fully recovered from a torn anterior cruciate ligament that kept him out of 11 games in 2007 and limited him during spring practice. But just a few days into fall practices, he hurt his left hamstring and sat out most of the past three weeks.Early this week, he was back on the field, but it was unclear how healthy he was because reporters are not permitted to watch practices all the way through.Still, the depth chart that LSU issued during Miles’ meeting with reporters on Monday indicated that Alexander, who is 6-foot-3, 310 pounds, remained a first-team defensive lineman alongside fellow tackle Ricky Jean-Francois and defensive ends Tyson Jackson and Kirston Pittman in the Tigers’ 4-3 scheme.LSU opens its season — and the defense of its national title — this Saturday afternoon against Appalachian State in Tiger Stadium, and Miles is optimistic that Alexander will play.A senior from Breaux Bridge, La., Alexander played in one game in 2005, 12 games in 2006 and started three games last season before his knee injury.Ole MissCoach Houston Nutt has a reputation for playing a lot of running backs.He showed he’ll continue that tradition at Mississippi when the team’s two-deep depth chart came out Monday — with five players listed at tailback.“I think if you’ve done research on me before, we’ve done this quite a bit and it’s not just for show,” Nutt said.Atop the depth chart is Cordera Eason, a junior who earned the starting job in spring practice. After that, it gets sketchy.Nutt has resisted giving specifics on what role each player will hold. He can’t blame fans and media for being curious, however. The players in his last two-man rushing rotation at Arkansas — Darren McFadden and Felix Jones — were taken in the first round of the NFL draft.So who gets to play the role of McFadden? Nutt’s not sure any player will at this stage in his first year at Ole Miss.“We’ve just got to see how the flow of the game goes, and they all know that they’ve got to be ready,” Nutt said. “There are some sets where we will have three backs in the backfield. That’s why we have all of these guys listed.” The players have been assigned certain situations and will be used when those scenarios pop up. One player might be in to return a kickoff. Another could be a third-down specialist.Mississippi StateThe status of starting left tackle Derek Sherrod is unclear as Saturday’s opener at Louisiana Tech approaches.The 6-foot-5, 298-pound sophomore could miss the rest of practice this week with a foot infection and might not be available when the team travels to Ruston.“The doctors tell me there’s a chance,” coach Sylvester Croom said. “The doctors tell me it’s going to have a lot to do with his pain tolerance. We’re just in a wait-and-see mode right now.” Sherrod will be the key to Mississippi State’s success on the offensive line this season. The team lost all-Southeastern Conference candidate Mike Brown in the offseason after he fired a gun on campus.So Sherrod moved to left tackle from the right side. If he can’t play, starting right tackle Mark Melichar will have to move over, too. That would leave the Mississippi State offensive line dangerously thin on the edges.

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